We completed the first round of "juiced-up" chemo and Bill has spent the week recovering. It is nasty stuff -- hopefully the tumor will think so too. We're glad that Bill has a strong constitution and that he hasn't had much nausea, but the fatigue is debilitating and he sleeps most of the time. We have begun to see an improvement, although by the end of the day (even after multiple naps), the aphasia, balance issues, weakness and memory loss worsen. But -- we are hoping to get to the beach this weekend.
The plan is to repeat the chemo protocol once every 4 weeks with 3 weeks in between to recover. We'll be going for another MRI on October 22nd and then it's back to Duke on November 16th. We'll be meeting the oncologist who'll be handling Bill's care going forward. Routine care is monitored by the oncologist here in Jacksonville, but at this point, she is taking direction from Duke.
We are hoping the next MRI shows some significant shrinkage in the tumor and surrounding brain tissue. The last MRI was not definitive, but did show that there was still a lot of swelling and the area involving the tumor had not gotten any smaller.
We continue to be hopeful and have begun trying to get our lives back to "normal." The last several months have been so full of doctor appointments and symptom and medication management that sometimes we forget to breathe the ocean air. On occasion, when the aphasia (the inability to find the right word or understand what is said) is particulary troublesome, Bill will use the word "Heaven" as a substitute. We think it poignant that's the word his brain has chosen. We truly do live in paradise. Check out the slide show on the right side of the Blog -- We really do live here!
Love,
Billy and Darlene
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